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FEAST OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

Greetings from Fr. Bob ...

During the month of June we celebrate many wonderful occasions – Trinity Sunday, the Feast of St. Anthony and Father’s Day. My personal favorite is the Feast of Corpus Christi – Feast of the Body of Christ. This Feast tells us so much about God’s love for us.

The night before Jesus died, He was faced with a problem. He had to leave us … He wanted to stay to be with us. The solution was unbelievable. A solution only the mysterious wisdom of God could give to us. He took the bread and wine and transformed them into His body and blood. He gave us Himself.

This is so amazing that we only believe it because Jesus told us. As it has been said: “If God, Himself, has told us who would dare to question.” Jesus loved us so much that He wants to be part of us and for us to be part of Him. And so, He invites us to receive Him at every Mass. With the Lord in us and part of us, we are never alone.

He will help you live with disappointment, with that illness that saps your strength and your spirit, and with the hard knocks that life gives you. We are what we receive – the Body of Christ. That means that the bread of life is not an individualistic thing, a solitary supper. It is not my private party, something just between Jesus and me. Yes, there must be time for prayer when you receive the Lord, but it also nurtures community and then we become what we receive, the body of Christ.

St. Paul phrased it so well – “because the bread is one, we through many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” The Lord who locks himself in the tabernacle of my body is none other than the Lord who nourishes my next door neighbor. The same Christ who feeds the Lebanese, the Japanese, the Africans and all those who believe in Christ, is one Lord. He came for all people – Christ came for all. In His flesh we are one.

We who partake of the Eucharistic Christ must realize that we do not keep His presence to ourselves. We spread it. Take that presence from your Church to the world. We take the presence to a world that is hungry, not only for food, but hungry for freedom, for peace, and hungry for God. Thus, the presence of Christ in us should make us think about our attitude towards the rest of the Body of Christ.

Let us think about that person who lives alone, the neighbor who is sick or elderly. Can I ever shop for them, call them? Do I take time to listen when others need to talk? Does the presence of Christ in me make any difference in the way I live? How can I spread scandal and gossip, ruining people’s reputations while I receive the one who said – ‘Judge not and you shall not be judged?’ How can I use and abuse others while I receive the one who said – love others as you would yourselves?”

In other words, does the Eucharist make a difference in our lives or is it something that has become common place? Something we do every Sunday whether we want to or not? Realize the full value of the Eucharistic presence. It is a presence which is a promise and a gift. A promise of good things which eyes have not seen or ears not yet heard. A gift of Blessings that have not entered our minds to imagine.

The Eucharist exists because of the love of Jesus. A love so strong that He is willing to come to us at every Mass. We begin to understand something of what He meant when He said – “I am with you until the end of the world.” We begin to understand what the psalmist meant when hundreds of years before Christ said – “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Bob Warren

IN HONOR OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, DAYS OF PRAYER AND PILGRIMAGE AT GRAYMOOR

ANNUITY UPDATE: NEW RATES TAKE EFFECT JULY 1ST

The Friars have been notified that new annuity rates will be going into effect on July 1. For benefactors over the age of 75, the good news is that your rates will be slightly higher. If you are 69 or younger, your rates will be slightly lower. Either way, present annuity rates are probably higher than you are receiving from a CD from your local bank and the new rates will most likely continue that trend.

A CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY with the friars insures that your legacy of supporting the Friars’ ministries to those in need will continue into the future and that you will also receive payments, based upon your age at the time of making your gift, for as long as you live.

Support our ministries! Give yourself a gift!

For more information contact Fr Emil Tomaskovic, SA or Margaret Coyle at (845) 424-2130, e-mail: mCoyle@AtonementFriars.org

Learn More about Charitable Gift Annuities >>

St. Francis Chapel, Graymoor

Franciscan Friars of the Atonement

Headquartered at Graymoor in Garrison, NY, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement is a Roman Catholic religious community with social, pastoral and ecumenical ministries in the United States, Canada, England, Italy, and Japan.

Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

In the Franciscan tradition of hospitality, Graymoor Spiritual Life Center welcomes individuals and groups of all faiths for spiritual retreats, meetings, conferences and pilgrimages.

Located on a mountaintop overlooking the Hudson River Valley, facilities include overnight accommodations, large dining room, a library, three chapels, as well as meeting/seminar facilities.

Centro Pro Unione
Christian Unity and
Ecumenical Research

The Centro Pro Unione, founded and directed by the Society of the Atonement, is an ecumenical research and action center. Its purpose is to give space for dialogue, to be a place for study, research and information in ecumenism: theological, pastoral, social and spiritual.

Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute

Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute promotes Christian unity and interreligious dialogue in North America through its monthly (except August) journal, Ecumenical Trends, Lecture Series, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity resources.

St. Christopher's Inn
Residential Shelter & Substance Abuse Treatment Center

St. Christopher's Inn is a temporary shelter dedicated to the rehabilitation of men in crisis. Today the Inn shelters over 1,200 men per year, most of whom suffer from alcohol and/or drug addiction.

Our mission is to offer a continuum of quality health care services that facilitate physical, emotional, and spiritual healing by providing chemical dependency treatment, primary health care, and temporary housing.